Call for Participation:International Conference "From Exclusion to Empowerment: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies for Persons with Disabilities"

24 to 26 November 2014

Venue: Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, India

Organized by UNESCO, Ministry of Human Resource Development, India and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, India

UNESCO, in close cooperation with international, regional, and national partners, is organizing the International conference "From Exclusion to Empowerment: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies for Persons with Disabilities" from 24 to 26 November 2014, in New Delhi, India.We invite you to be part of this international event that contains the international conference, film festival, and exhibition on ICTs for inclusion of persons with disabilities. It will provide the chance to meet, share, hear, and learn from prominent international, regional, and national speakers about key issues, latest technology trends, policy developments, research, and initiatives. The speakers will be policy and decision makers, industry representatives, research community, information and media professionals, filmmakers and producers, persons with disabilities, and civil society members.If you are involved in the disability, education, policy, and IT industry sector and have vested interest in India, Asia-Pacific region, and international issues, then you cannot afford to miss this great opportunity to be part of the international event.

The international event is built on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and UNESCO's unique mandate for education, science, culture, communication, and information within the United Nations system.

For more information about From Exclusion to Empowerment 2014, please read the Concept Note.

Abstract: Sanitation is one of the basic determinants of quality of life and human development index. Good sanitary practices prevent contamination of water and soil and thereby prevent diseases. The concept of sanitation was, therefore, expanded to include personal hygiene, home sanitation, safe water, garbage disposal, excreta disposal and waste water disposal. Open defecation is a traditional behaviour in rural India. This along with the relative neglect of sanitation in terms of development priorities was reflected in the country's low sanitation coverage at the close of the 1990s when it was found that only 30% rural households had access to a toilet (Census 2011). The census report shows that 67.3% i.e. 113 million rural households practice open defecation. This fact, combined with low awareness of improved hygiene behaviour, makes the achievement of the goal of total sanitation a pressing challenge in rural India. The responsibility for provision of sanitation facilities in the country primarily rests with local government bodies – Gram Panchayat in rural areas. The State and Central Governments act as facilitators, through enabling policies, budgetary support and capacity development. This presentation will highlight changing policy paradigms in the areas of rural sanitation due to concerted efforts made by WHO, UNICEF, Sulabh International, and other organizations. This presentation will also analyse salient features of erstwhile Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan and its new avatar Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

2nd Talk on

"Science in Action: Of Patients, Physicians, and Publics of Stem Cell Technologies in India"

Doctoral and postgraduate scholars are invited to participate in a workshop on history with esteemed historian Prof Romila Thapar. The intention of the workshop, "Dharma and the Past", is to critically engage with the oeuvre of Prof Thapar, especially the strand that deals with historiographic and conceptual questions of memory, selfhood, caste, ancient and modern Hindu identity. Prof Thapar will respond to comments of selected proposals, as well as to an invited panel of philosophers and political theorists. Please send a proposal of 1000 words, explaining your interest in the workshop, by November 3, 2014. Selected participants will be informed by November 15th. There is a registration fee of Rs 1500 for those selected, which includes free accommodation from January 18th to 21st. Please send CV and proposal to office.mcph@manipal.edu with subject heading 'Dharma and the Past'.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Space and Atomic Energy, Dr. Jitendra Singh announced over 50% hike in the fellowship amount received by various categories of young Research scientists, here today. This land mark decision, responding to a long standing demand by around one lakh science Research Scholars and Associates working across the country, is taken by the Department of Science & Technology under his Ministry, the Minister added.

Addressing a press conference, Dr. Jitendra Singh informed that the fellowship amount for Research Associate-III had been hiked from Rs.24000 to Rs.46000, Research Associate-II from Rs.23000 to Rs.42000, Research Associate-I from Rs.22000 to Rs.38000, Senior Research Fellow from Rs.18000 to Rs.30000 and Junior Research Fellow from Rs.16000 to Rs.25000 per month respectively.

In addition, the House Rent Allowance (HRA) as well as the Medical benefits will continue to be available to all the categories of Research Scholars as per the Central Government norms or the norms of host institutions which ever applicable. Entitlement for travel by AC-2 tier or AC-3 tier depending upon the category of Research Fellow / Research Associate will also be available. In addition, maternity leave for women will also be available to all categories of Research Fellows.

Dr. Jitendra Singh recalled that as soon as he took over as Minister for Science & Technology four months back, the Research scholars had approached him with this demand, in response to which he had assured them that it is genuine and, being himself from the scientific fraternity, he could very well understand that a hike was richly deserved by Research Scholars and the Research Associates who devoted their entire time and energy to the growth of science in the country. Soon after, he said, he held a series of meetings with the Secretary (S&T) and other Departments which was followed by inter-ministerial meetings with the Ministry of Finance for budgetary implications.

Dr. Jitendra Singh thanked the Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley for having accepted the demand put up by his Ministry. Each Ministry and agency can now use the guidelines to make requisite changes over their specific fellowship programmes, he added.

Dr. Jitendra Singh further suggested that a hike in the fellowship amount should be undertaken periodically after due assessment and for this purpose he directed his Science & Technology Secretary to put in place a proper mechanism.

In addition, Dr. Jitendra Singh also issued directions to the Science & Technology Ministry to put in place a web-based fellowship assessment and disbursement mechanism so that delays in disbursement of fellowship amount could be avoided.

Course Structure & RequirementsThis eight-week course is structured around a series of pre-recorded lectures, readings, quizzes, activities and an interactive discussion forum. Each of these course components can be completed at a time that is convenient for the student. The material for each week is made available each Monday, and once the material has been opened, it remains open for the duration of the course. There will be no mandatory written assignments for the course but the course encourages active participation in the discussion forum.In addition, Johan Rockström and invited guest researchers will hold 3 real-time Google Hangouts to encourage students to ask questions and engage directly with experts. These Hangouts will be announced 1-2 weeks in advance. As a guideline, in order for students to become part of the community, engage with the content and get the most out of the course, they should aim to spend approximately 6 hours per week.All students who successfully complete the course requirements will receive a digital certificate of completion signed by Professor Rockström and a 'sustainable citizen' avatar badge. For those that are exceptional contributors to the course, special recognition and a limited number of prizes will be offered. While this course is not credit granting, we encourage students to work with their own institutions to explore the option of granting credit for online coursework. More details will be provided following the launch of the course.

JNU - Transdisciplinary Research Cluster (TRC) on 'Sustainability Studies' announces the launch of Sustainability Research Resource Network (SRRN). On the inaugural event of this initiative, SRRN invites you to the short presentations to be followed by the discussions on the following topics:

Volunteer or Workers: Politics of Sanitary Contract Workers in a Mumbai Slum

(The short presentations of 15 minutes each will be followed by the discussions)

Sustainability Research Resource Network (SRRN) is an initiative of the JNU-TRC on Sustainability Studies with the objective of creating a network and resources on the theme of sustainability that are not limited to the disciplinary boundaries. It aims at creating a pool of academics/researchers, policy makers, planners, practitioners, activists and persons from other walks of life trying to deal with the contemporary challenges of sustainability. In other words, emergence of a multidisciplinary and/or transdisciplinary knowledge and research network is envisaged through this initiative to comprehend upon the challenges and alternatives to sustainability studies.

Transdisciplinary Research Cluster (TRC) on 'Sustainability Studies' is a collaborative effort of the faculty members and researchers of Centre for Studies in Science Policy (CSSP), Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health (CSMCH), Centre for the Study of Regional Development (CSRD) and Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies (CIS&LS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. This TRC is intended to engage with the contemporary challenges of sustainability through Transdisciplinary research, education and outreach.

Students/Researchers/Faculty members from natural as well as social sciences working on the themes of sustainability studies are invited to join this network of research resource pool. Those who are working on the relevant themes are invited to send their contributions to the SRRN. SRRN team welcomes their contributions. SSRN will invite them to make presentations and participate in discussions in future. The SRRN proposes to hold on sustainability studies such a forum on a regular basis.

Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie requests contributions of research papers/articles, book reviews on public administration and public policy, etc for the forthcoming issues of the Academy journal The Administrator. An honorarium of Rs. 2500/- will be paid to contributors of published articles. For further details; see http://www.lbsnaa.gov.in/pages/ display/ 559-subscription-con-tribution-for-administrator. Contributions should be emailed to trdc.lbsnaa@nic.in by November 15, 2014.

Abstract: In spite of meteorological warning, many human lives are lost every year to cyclone mainly because vulnerable populations were not evacuated on time to a safe shelter as per recommendation. It raises several questions, most prominently what explains people's behaviour in the face of such danger from a cyclonic storm? How do people view meteorological advisories issued for cyclone and what role they play in defining the threat? What shapes public response during such situation? This article based on an ethnographic study carried out in coastal state of Odisha, India, argues that local public recognising inherent limitations of meteorological warning, fall back on their own system of observation and forecasting. Not only are the contents of cyclone warning understood, its limitations are accommodated and explained.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

As you may be aware, Global R&D Summit is organized annually by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and Dept. of Science & Technology (DST), Government Of India, in association with MM Active Sci-Tech Communications (MM Activ).

The 2nd Global R&D Summit- 2014 with its focal theme "Next–Gen Innovations through Interdisciplinary Research" is scheduled during November 12 - 13, 2014 at The Lalit, New Delhi.

We are glad to share with you that renowned personalities in the field of R&D like Dr. R. A. Mashelkar, President, Global Research Alliance & Former Director General CSIR, Govt. of India, Prof. K. Raghavan, Secretary (Addl. Charge), Dept. of S & T, Govt. of India, Shri Avinash Chander, Secretary, Dept. of Defence R&D, Director General-R&D & SA to RM, Govt. of India, Dr. John P. Holdren, Asst. to the President for S&T: Director of the White House Office of S&T Policy, Govt. of USA and many more are expected to deliver the Distinguished Lectures at Global R&D Summit and make the deliberations vibrant and invigorating.

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon'ble Ministers of Road transport & Highways and Dr. Jitender Singh, Hon'ble Minister of State for Ministry of S&T, MOES, PMO Office, DAE and Dept. of Space, Govt. of India are also likely to address the International summit and show India's commitment and resolve to take the country on a path of accelerated growth through R&D and Innovations.

Keeping in tune with India's priority areas for R&D investment, the event will focus on areas such as - Aerospace, Telecom, Energy, Defence, Infrastructure, Healthcare, Pharma & Designs. The summit will be attended by a large number of delegates and business visitors from across the globe. Expert presentations on above mentioned topics would give an impetus to the proceedings. It will be an excellent knowledge exchange and networking platform. The Exhibition concurrent to the summit shall witness participationfrom Government, Corporate, Academia, PSUs, States etc showcasing cutting edge technologies, innovation and initiatives. For latest update on the summit, please visit www.ficcirndsummit.com

We shall highly appreciate, if you could encourage Scientists, Researchers and incubating units within your esteemed organization/Department, to register as Delegates and benefit from powerful deliberations on current issues and latest developments in the R&D sector across the globe.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

National Development Convention on Resources, Institutions and Development: Contestations and Possibilities in Globalizing India

Organised by Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad, India

February 12-13, 2015

GIDR Call for Papers

Even as the neoliberal economic regime, regardless of the political ideology that it represents, has redefined the contours of India's path to progress, questions on resources – natural, human and institutional – and rights over them have come to occupy an important constituency in the country's development discourse. The last decade has witnessed a remarkable rise in the engagement by the academia, policy makers and the civil society interrogating the conflicts and dilemmas around ownership, use and management of resources. The central objective of the Development Convention is to bring together diverse, regional comparative perspectives on the modes, terms and outcomes of the extant and emerging interdependencies between resources and institutions mediated by the process of globalization. Contributions that explore these broad themes are welcome.

Important Dates

October 20, 2014: Last date for submission of extended abstract (1200-1500 words)

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD), Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISC), and Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) under the banner Indian Climate Research Network, are organizing the Fifth National Research Conference on Climate Change, to be held at IIT-Delhi on December 19-20, 2014.

We invite abstracts from faculty, students, civil society organisations and practitioners in the areas of climate science, impacts, mitigation, adaptation, disaster risk reduction and renewable energy. Selected abstracts will receive a slot for presentation or poster session. There will also be panel discussions involving invited speakers from a range of backgrounds. Abstracts should be submitted online by October 30, 2014 at: http://www.icrn.in/abstractsubmission. Limited funding is available for travel and local expenses for suitable candidates.

Learning across Borders: The Economics of Environment and Natural Resource Management

The South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) is currently inviting research concept notes that focus on transboundary areas or compare environmental issues in at least two countries in South Asia. Concept notes on the following thematic areas will be considered, and, may lead to an invitation to submit full proposals.

- Policies and Instruments for Greener Growth: Governments put forward a variety of policies and regulations to manage environmental problems. In order to understand whether these strategies are effective, this area emphasizes: a) evaluations of the impacts of environmental policies and programs; and, b) investigations into incentives associated with regulatory and market mechanisms and their contribution to compliance.

- Ecosystems Management: Ecosystems provide provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural services that are being lost at an accelerating rate. Ecosystems research examines: a) contributions of services to livelihoods, particularly of vulnerable groups; b) scale and institutional issues in managing conflicts associated with multiple services; c) policies amenable to conserving services such as biodiversity that are not substitutable.

- Economics of Climate Change: With climate change, South Asia is expected to get warmer and experience more extreme events.

SANDEE research focuses on:

a) the efficacy of alternate adaptation and mitigation strategies and their local co-benefits; and,

- Selected research concept notes will be provided proposal development support to enable teams to understand cross-country issues and travel to study areas for developing full proposals. SANDEE will also try to facilitate cross-country team development.

- Innovative proposals outside the three themes listed above and without cross-country components may be considered if these have strong policy implications. All proposals have to include a strong economics component.

- Grants are likely to be in the range of USD 20,000-50,000 over a two-year period. Research ideas will be evaluated on their intellectual rigor and policy significance.

- Please review guidelines and upload concept notes (approximate length 1500 words) on www.sandeeonline.org by November 30, 2014 to be considered for the next grants window. For any additional queries, please contact us at research@sandeeonline.org

Call for PapersThe Harvard Educational Review (HER) is seeking papers from researchers, practitioners, families, and youth for an upcoming Special Issue on Undocumented Students and Education. While undocumented students make up 1–3 percent of students in the U.S. public school system, they are also one of the most vulnerable populations—shedding light on their experiences reveals that there are structural factors that either inhibit or support the educational and personal trajectories of these students. As such, while undocumented immigrant students have a legal right to K–12 education in the United States, their academic and social experiences vary greatly.Research in this growing field has drawn attention to the untenable nature of undocumented students' lives and the disjuncture created by contradictory educational and immigration policies. However, little is known about these students' educational contexts—primarily school settings—and how teachers, administrators, and community members interact with undocumented students. The theme of this Special Issue, "Dissolving Boundaries: Understanding Undocumented Students' Educational Experiences," highlights our interest in papers that delve into the "black box" of formal educational experiences to explore the important roles that schools, universities, educators, and communities play in shaping students' childhood, adolescent, and young-adult trajectories.We welcome submissions pertaining to the complex contexts of undocumented childhood and adolescence, the challenges undocumented students face as a result of their unique circumstances, and how this diverse group of students may use support systems to thrive in the current education system.We invite authors to consider addressing one or more of the following contextual themes:

School: "Safe Spaces" and/or Sites for the Policing of "Illegality."

After School: Undocumented Children and Youth Participation and Experiences in Out-of-School Time Programs, Community-Based Settings, and Higher Education.

First-Person Perspectives: Opportunities and Challenges in K–12 and Higher Education, as told by students and practitioners.

Beyond the United States: Research and reflection on undocumented students' experiences internationally.

These themes are in no way meant to be exhaustive. HER has historically defined education broadly, as education takes place in many locations beyond schools. We encourage works and perspectives that articulate cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, and comparative perspectives.

SubmissionsWe are seeking the following:Research articles or essays, including (but not limited to) original research based on empirical studies, and theoretical essays grounded in literature. Research article or essay submissions should be no longer than 9,000 words.Voices: Reflective Accounts of Education, written by students, teachers, parents, community members, and/or others involved in education, whose perspectives can inform policy, practice, and/or research. Submissions of this type generally contain a detailed narrative that weaves ideas, situations, and experiences together, and highlights key learnings. Please note that for this Special Issue, Voices submissions should be no longer than 3,000 words.We highly advise that interested authors review our Guidelines for Authors, which can be found at http://www.hepg.org/page/20, prior to submission.

Call for Papers – Special Issue of African Journal for Science, Technology, Innovation and Development Theme: Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Development

African Journal for Science, Technology, Innovation and Development (AJSTID) invites scholars to submit their papers for a special issue on technology and innovation policy for inclusive development. AJSTID is an interdisciplinary and refereed international journal on science, technology, innovation and development in Africa and other low-income countries. It has been established to highlight the crucial role of science, technology and innovation for development and to promote research on the contribution of knowledge creation and diffusion to development in Africa.This issue will explore research questions focusing on the connection between innovation and inclusive development, in particular on innovation activities that provide livelihoods to marginalized groups of people from the bottom of the pyramid. It is a present concern that innovation–despite its benefits - contributes to increasing inequalities where only the best skilled people are rewarded and incomes in some groups are even reduced. Inclusive development is on the agenda for policy discussions in both OECD and non-OECD countries and constitutes a significant emerging research area with various issues for profound scholarly inquiry that call for and invite attempts to bridge different intellectual traditions.The aim of this special issue is to provide the opportunity to advance the understanding of the dynamics of innovation for and by marginalized groups of people, mechanisms that link formal and informal innovative activities and to contribute to the development of innovation policies for social inclusion mainly in Africa and also from the rest of the world.The call is to invite submission following the review and reference procedures of the journal to submit full research papers that preferably address mainly the following themes:

Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and the needs and concerns of lower-income groups

Technological Capability building in informal settings – how to bridge the skill gap

Diffusion of innovation from lower - income groups

Innovation and Inequality

Distinguishing and Evaluating the social and economic dimension in innovation policy to promote social inclusion

Social innovation for including the bottom of the pyramid

The role of different actors for skill development for marginalized groups of people: universities, NGOs, incubators.

Submissions will be refereed for relevance to the theme as well as academic rigour and originality. The papers should be no longer than 4000-7000 words with an abstract of 150 words; references should be sent in an Endnote file. High quality articles not deemed to be sufficiently relevant to the special issue may be considered for publication in a subsequent non-themed issue. Please send your work no later than April 1st, 2015 to Dr. Astrid Szogs, astridszogs@gmail.com and Prof. Mammo Muchie, MuchieM@tut.ac.za.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Annual International Studies Convention 2014 (AISC 2014):: Power, Resistance and Justice in the International System: Perspectives from the South21-23 December 2014 Venue: Convention Centre, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, IndiaSupported by: Public Diplomacy Division - Ministry of External Affairs; Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)Organised by School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), in partnership with various universities.

Call for PapersThe Academic Committee for AISC 2014 invites papers on the theme: Power, Resistance and Justice in the International System: Perspectives from the South. Convention Some of the panel themes for the Convention are as follows:01. Southern Theorisations as Resistance02. Identities on the Move: Ethnic, Religious, National, Transnational and Diasporic03. Democratization: Rhetoric, Reality and the Promise04. Environment: Mainstream and Alternatives Perspectives05. Peace, Power and Resistance: Cross-Country Theorisations06. India's Foreign Policy: Challenge or Convergence07. Gender and International Relations08. Religion and International Relations09. Interdisciplinarity and International Relations10. Social Movements and Globalization11. Arab Uprisings: Persisting Issues12. Imperialism in the 21st Century13. International Labor Movement Today14. Reflections on 191415. Global Law and Global Justice16. International Relations and International Law: Intersecting Disciplines17. Migration as Resistance18. International Institutions Today: Democratic or Hegemonic?19. Culture and Resistance20. Geographies of Resistance21. Borders as Sites of Contestation22. Globalization and Human Rights23. Changing Nature of International Political Economy24. Changing Conceptions of Power25. Transformations in the World Order26. Sustainable Energy for All27. Asian Energy Security Structure and India's Strategic Engagement28. Crisis of Security State in West Asia: Contextualizing the Rise of ISIS29. Regional Orders in a Globalizing World30. Civil Society as an Agent of Resistance31. Emerging Powers and New Coalitions in International Relations32. Evolving Notions of Development and the Idea of Justice33. Natural Resources and the Global Commons: Concepts of Sharing and Burden Sharing34. International Trade and the Manifestation of Power35. A New International Organizational Architecture for the World: Issues of Power and Justice36. Geopolitics as a Determinant of Power37. State-Market Interaction and the Interplay of Power in the International System

We invite papers under the aforementioned panels as well as entirely new panels and paper proposals that resonate with the overall theme of the convention. Paper proposals should be accompanied by a 400 word abstract and panel proposals by a 200 word description. If you want your paper to be considered under any of the above panels, kindly mention it at the time of submission. This is not required if you are proposing an entirely new panel or a paper proposal pertaining to the general theme of the conference rather than a specific panel. Participants may present no more than one paper. In case of joint papers, kindly specify the co-authors right at the outset while submitting the abstract.